Baked Zucchini Fries

Hello from earthquake central! I was actually in an interview practice program and all of the sudden the floor started shaking and the lights started swinging from the ceiling. Crazy! Not gonna lie, it was kinda fun. But only because nothing bad actually happened. Sadly the drama was over in like one minute and then I had to get to class…so lame.

My health issues are really going crazy lately. The basic of it is that I have swelling, which starts as the size of a bug bite and then over the course of the day gets huge and more spread out. Then after about 24 hours it will completely go away, and then soon after it will happen somewhere else in my body. Today it’s in the SOLE OF MY FOOT. VERY inconvenient. It’s not extremely painful, just really sore, and I look like a cripple because I can’t walk normally on it. I’m such a cool 23 year old. I have another doctor’s appointment on Friday and hopefully they can officially diagnose this ridiculousness.

But what’s more interesting than me being a cripple? These zucchini fries. They are a fun spin on deep fried zucchini fries (which we LOVE), and are the perfect healthy compliment to a burger in lieu of fries.

Baked Zucchini Fries

• 4 medium zucchini
• 1 c. Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 c. flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 2 eggs

-Slice the clean zucchini into fry-size wedges.

-In a large ziploc bag, shake together the flour, garlic pepper, and about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper in the bag. Put the zuchhini wedges in the bag, zip it up, and shake to coat them in flour.

-Whisk together the eggs in a large, shallow bowl. Pour the bread crumbs into another large, shallow bowl.

-Remove the dredged zucchini slices a few at a time from the ziploc and coat them with egg first, then with bread crumbs. Set aside (Note:It helps to use a fork or tongs for this, it can get messy if you use your hands).

-Place the breaded slices onto a baking sheet. When all of the slices are breaded and on the sheet, spray a light layer of olive oil over them and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crumbs are nice and brown. Flip the fries once about halfway through cooking.

-Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 4 side dish servings.

So tasty! I love serving vegetables in different ways like this, it makes things a lot more interesting. Side note: if you’re in a hurry, Trader Joe’s has really good pre-made patties in the meat section. Just sprinkle a little salt and pepper on before cooking and you’re good to go. Their whole wheat hamburger buns are awesome, too!

Don’t forget the cheese, of course.

I’m off to do some homework and then head to my night class. Yuck.

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren